Steelers cut TE Zach Gentry, keep 2 punters while setting 53-man roster

5-6 minutes 8/29/2023
By cutting their longest tenured tight end, trading a former starting center and keeping two punters, the Pittsburgh Steelers finalized their initial 53-man roster Tuesday.
The Steelers cut 16 players, including fifth-year tight end Zach Gentry, and traded Kendrick Green, their 2021 starting center, to the Houston Texans to get to the roster limit. Among the players the Steelers kept were both punters they used in the preseason: incumbent Pressley Harvin III and veteran Braden Mann.
The roster remains fluid and could change as soon as Wednesday when players cut by other teams are claimed on waivers or are signed after the 4 p.m. deadline. The Steelers also will begin setting their 16-man practice squad Wednesday.
The initial roster includes 24 players on offense, 25 on defense and four specialists. Six of the Steelers’ seven draft picks survived the cut. The only one who did not was seventh-round cornerback Cory Trice, who tore an ACL in training camp and will spend his rookie season on injured reserve.
The Steelers began the afternoon by trading an interior offensive lineman and former starter for the second time in three days. Two days after sending guard Kevin Dotson to the Los Angeles Rams, the Steelers shipped Green to Houston in exchange for a 2025 sixth-round draft pick.
A guard in college, Green was converted to center for his rookie season and started 15 games in 2021. After the Steelers signed Mason Cole and James Daniels in free agency, Green was moved back to guard but lost a training camp competition with Dotson and was inactive for all 17 games last season.
The Steelers experimented with using the 6-foot, 315-pound Green as a fullback in training camp, but he did not play the position in the preseason.
The Steelers also cut guard/center Ryan McCollum, leaving veteran Nate Herbig and seventh-round draft pick Spencer Anderson as the backup options on the interior of the offensive line. The other reserve offensive linemen are tackles Broderick Jones, the team’s first-round pick, and first-year player Dylan Cook, a former undrafted free agent.
The Steelers’ cuts also included cornerbacks Luq Barcoo and Chris Wilcox; defensive linemen Breiden Fehoko and Jonathan Marshall; linebackers Nick Kwiatkoski of Bethel Park, David Perales and Quincy Roche; running backs Greg Bell and Xazavian Valladay; safeties Trenton Thompson and Tre Norwood; tight end Rodney Williams; and wide receivers Jordan Boyd and Dez Fitzpatrick.
Surviving the roster purge was fourth-year running back Anthony McFarland.
The most surprising cut was Gentry, who returned to the Steelers on a one-year contract after exploring free agency.
A fifth-round pick in 2019, Gentry appeared in every game for the Steelers the past two seasons and was used primarily in blocking situations, although he did catch 19 passes in each of the past two seasons. Gentry, who started 26 games and appeared in 40, became expendable with the emergence of third-round pick Darnell Washington of Georgia. Washington came to the NFL with a reputation as a strong blocker, and he caught both of his targets for 15 yards in the preseason.
Gentry was seen with a walking boot on his right foot over the weekend, but coach Mike Tomlin said the fifth-year tight end was healthy.
Norwood was let go after two seasons with the Steelers. A seventh-round draft pick in 2021, he appeared in 32 games and made six starts the past two seasons as a defensive back who could play multiple positions. He lost a roster spot to Elijah Riley, who competed with Chandon Sullivan for the slot cornerback job during the preseason.
Fehoko signed a free-agent deal with the Steelers in March after spending the previous three seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers. The Steelers kept Armon Watts, a fifth-year vet who played for the Chicago Bears in 2022 and has 22 career starts.
The Steelers started the day with 70 players on the roster.
The Steelers’ initial 53-man roster:
Offense
Quarterbacks (3): Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph, Mitch Trubisky
Running backs (3): Najee Harris, Anthony McFarland Jr., Jaylen Warren
Offensive line (9): Spencer Anderson, Mason Cole, Dylan Cook, James Daniels, Nate Herbig, Broderick Jones, Dan Moore Jr., Chukwuma Okorafor, Isaac Seumalo
Tight ends (3): Pat Freiermuth, Connor Heyward, Darnell Washington
Wide receivers (6): Calvin Austin III, Miles Boykin, Diontae Johnson, Gunner Olszewski, George Pickens, Allen Robinson II
Defense
Defensive line (7): Montravius Adams, Keeanu Benton, Cameron Heyward, DeMarvin Leal, Isaiahh Loudermilk, Larry Ogunjobi, Armon Watts
Inside linebackers (4): Kwon Alexander, Cole Holcomb, Elandon Roberts, Mark Robinson
Outside linebackers (4): Markus Golden, Nick Herbig, Alex Highsmith, T.J. Watt
Cornerbacks (5): Patrick Peterson, James Pierre, Joey Porter Jr., Chandon Sullivan, Levi Wallace
Safeties (5): Minkah Fitzpatrick, Damontae Kazee, Miles Killebrew, Keanu Neal, Elijah Riley
Specialists
Kicker: Chris Boswell
Punters: Pressley Harvin III, Braden Mann
Long snapper: Christian Kuntz